COVID-19 Relief Funds Misused by Pentagon

As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the country, the US government allocated $3 trillion in emergency spending to combat the virus. However, a significant portion of this money was redirected to defense contracting companies, with little to no transparency on how the funds were spent. This resulted in a severe shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies, putting healthcare workers at risk. The Pentagon's misuse of COVID-19 relief funds is a stark example of the disconnect between the government's priorities and the needs of the American people.

Key Takeaways:

• The Pentagon received $1 billion in funding to build up the country's supply of medical equipment, but the funds were largely misused for defense contracting efforts.
• Defense News reported that the Pentagon spent less than a quarter of the $10.6 billion Congress gave it to protect military personnel and American industry to procure face masks, ventilators, and other critical medical supplies.
• Democratic senators wrote to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, calling for him to provide Congress with a spending plan for the remaining funds, citing concerns over the lack of transparency in the use of emergency funds.
• HCA Healthcare, the largest for-profit hospital chain in the US, received about $1 billion in federal coronavirus relief that does not have to be repaid, and an estimated $4 billion in accelerated Medicare payments.
• CEO Sam Hazen received $27 million in total compensation in 2019, with no indication that his pay was reduced in 2020 despite the pandemic.
• The CARES Act was passed to provide $3 trillion in emergency spending to deal with the pandemic, but tens of millions of dollars were redirected to firms not originally considered for COVID-19 relief.
• Defense contracting companies were awarded funds to include tapping into the Paycheck Protection Program, which allocated billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses.
• The Small Business Administration lent out $349 billion in just 13 days during the program's first round, with larger businesses like Ruth's Chris Steak Houses chain receiving millions.
• Pentagon spokesperson Jessica Maxwell said the CARES Act does not require all the money distributed to be spent on medical resources.
• Reps. Mark Pocan and Barbara Lee wrote a letter to Democratic leaders urging them to commence oversight investigations and public hearings into the Pentagon's misuse of COVID-19 relief funds.

Statistics:

• $3 trillion: Total emergency spending allocated by Congress to combat the COVID-19 pandemic
• $1 billion: Amount of funding received by the Pentagon for medical equipment
• $10.6 billion: Amount of funding Congress gave the Pentagon to protect military personnel and American industry
• 23%: Percentage of the funds provided by Congress that the Pentagon had placed on contract nine weeks prior
• 1,000: Number of healthcare professionals who protested the lack of PPE and hospital understaffing during the pandemic
• $6 billion: Amount of funding still needed by states to distribute vaccines to Americans
• 679: Number of frontline healthcare workers who have died of COVID-19 in the US
• $1 billion: Amount of federal coronavirus relief received by HCA Healthcare
• $4 billion: Estimated amount of accelerated Medicare payments received by HCA Healthcare
• $27 million: Total compensation received by HCA Healthcare CEO Sam Hazen in 2019
• $521 billion: Total amount allocated by the PPP to help small businesses keep workers on their payrolls
• $175.7 billion: Amount of loans approved through the PPP by May 1, 2020
• $20 million: Amount of loan received by Ruth's Chris Steak Houses chain from the small business loan program
• $468 million: Revenue of Ruth's Chris Steak Houses chain last year

Sources:

• Defense News
• Kaiser Health News
• The Guardian
• The Citizen-Times
• Modern Healthcare
• New York Times
• Defense News
• CNN
• KHQ News
• NPR
• Vanity Fair
• Task & Purpose
• CBS News
• Washington Post